Amortentia
by CheetahLiv
Summary: HBP SPOILERS! Hermione catches a whiff of her third Amortentia ingrediant at the Burrow. Is it Ron? Or someone else? R&R!
1. In sleep

A/N: I am not JKR, so don;t sue me! lol.

Just so you know, there are HBP spoilers in this! Read at your own peril...jk. Enjoy!

Hermione stood in the shadows, jumping at every sign of movement. She clutched her wand, her palm sweating. Beginning to wonder if standing still was a good idea, she moved a little closer towards the main corridor.

Nothing could have prepared her for the sight that met her red-rimmed eyes. The magnificent Entrance Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was in chaos. There was blood splattered everywhere, and chunks of the ceiling had fallen and cracked the marble floor. Death Eaters and Order members alike lay fallen, although the amount of the former far outnumbered the amount of the latter. Her eyes searched for the bodies of people she knew, but she recognized no one until she saw flaming red hair...

Hermione awoke with a start. Rolling over to check her alarm clock, she decided that 5:00 was an alright time to get up and pack. She had made arrangements to spend the last two weeks of the summer break at the Burrow with Harry and the Weasleys.

She shook her head, trying not to dwell on the nightmare she had had all too often. There were variations in it; sometimes the person dead would be Harry, or a Weasley, or her parents. Once or twice she had even knelt by her former Potions Master's lifeless body. Those were the weird ones. She consciously knew that Snape was a traitor, yet in her dreams, she shed as many tears for him as she did for her friends.

By 7:00, she was all set to go. She hauled her trunk down the stairs and kissed her mother and father goodbye, telling them not to worry about her and offering false words of assurance. Stepping out into the grey fog of an early London morning, she looked back at the house which had long ago stopped being her home. Deciding that seven in the morning was too early to become emotional and ruin her whole day, she concentrated on the 3 D's and Apparated to the Burrow.

A/N: Well, what do you think? Reviews keep me going!


	2. He sang to me

Disclaimer: See Ch.1

"Why, hello Hermione dear!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as she left her doorway to greet Hermione. "We weren't expecting you this early! The boys and Ginny are upstairs still, having a bit of a lie-in. Do come in! Would you care for a spot of breakfast?"

Instead of replying, Hermione ran into Mrs. Weasley's arms, inhaling her familiar scent. She had always regarded Mrs. Weasley as a second mother, one who knew all about the Wizarding world. She had never told any of the Weasley children this, but Hermione kept in close contact with their mother regarding their activities at Hogwarts. The two women had formed a close friendship over the years.

Hermione allowed herself to be ushered into the kitchen and steered to the table. Holding identical mugs of tea in their hands, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley talked amicably and caught up. Hermione had a sudden brainwave. _I should ask Mrs. Weasley about my dreams! She'd know what to do! _As she opened her mouth to speak, however, she caught a whiff of something, a scent she couldn't quite name, yet one she vividly remembered. It smelled like the third scent in her Amortentia potion, fire. Shaking her head, Hermione asked about the dreams.

"No my dear, I don't know what to do. Dreamless Sleep potion can be helpful, but it carries a high risk of dependency if used too often. And in this situation, the benefits are far less than the costs," said Mrs. Weasley, a pensive look on her face.

"Oh," said a slightly downcast Hermione. The somber mood disappeared almost instantly, when footsteps could be heard pounding down the stairs. She barely had time to register the two young men at the base of the stairs before they ran at her and squashed her in a big hug, with an identical cry of "Hermione!"

Smothered by their embrace, she managed to gasp out, "Almost the late Hermione, the way you two ran at me!" They released her, chastised, but smiled when they saw amusement gleaming in her eyes. She held out her arms to Harry first, saying, "Now, lets have a look at you." She hugged him, and inhaled the scent of freshly mown grass that always seemed to linger around him. The only reason that his scent was in her Amortentia potion was because Harry had been her first real, true friend.

Letting go of Harry, she surveyed her other friend, Ron. She blushed as she embraced him, too embarrassed to notice Ron's ears burning scarlet also. She inhaled his scent too, and realized that he smelled vaguely of fire! Could he have been the third scent in her Amortentia potion?

After releasing Ron, she heard sudden footsteps at the base of the stairs. Noticing the Weasleys' clock, she saw that Fred and George's "hands" were moving from "Home" to "Apparating" to "Home" again. She shook her head, remembering the summer in Grimmauld Place when the twins had been so anxious to showcase their magical abilities.

Ron whipped around to face his older brothers. Advancing towards them, he threatened, "If you ever,_ ever_ light me on fire again, I swear that I will hex you into tomorrow!"

Fred and George simply looked at each other and laughed. Puzzled by the interaction, Hermione asked what had happened, which only made the twins laugh harder. Ron shot them a death glare before turning to Hermione and saying through gritted teeth, "They thought it would be funny to set my shirt on fire with one of their new inventions."

Hermione tried desperately to suppress a smile, and failed. "Oh, how truly awful of them!" she exclaimed. Then a thought occurred to her—the smell of fire had only been from his burnt shirt, so Ron couldn't have been the third scent in the potion.

She suddenly felt like someone was staring at her from behind. She looked around, but no one was behind her. She shrugged it off and prepared to spend the day with her two best friends.

The golden trio had a fun time that day. They caught up on what they had each done over the first part of break. Later, Hermione watched as Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny played Quidditch from after lunch till sundown. She didn't feel excluded though; her mom had just owled her a new potions theory book and she sat under a tree, engrossed in it. Every once in a while she caught the scent in the air, and she often felt like someone was staring at her, but she thought it was just her senses tingling from being around magic after not using it all summer.

The boys and Ginny finally had to come in when it became too dark to see the enchanted golf ball they were using as a Golden Snitch. Mrs. Weasley had prepared a large, delicious meal, and Hermione went to bed stuffed.

Even though she was exhausted, Hermione was afraid to sleep. What if she had another dream? Would she freak out now because she was staying with the Weasleys? What if one of them was killed tonight? But try as she might to resist, waves of sleep soon washed over her.

Hermione found herself once again in that secluded corridor. She knew what was waiting for her in the Entrance Hall, but she couldn't seem to stop her dream self from heading that way. She tensed, waiting to see the damage, but before she reached the Hall, she heard a voice. It was singing a glorious song, and it was coming from the Hall.

She opened her eyes and saw that the Hall was slowly being restored in time with the music of the man's voice. The blood and bodies disappeared and the ceiling repaired itself, leaving a smooth marble floor behind. Hermione sat and reveled in this amazing magical song, this power of the music of the night.

Hermione awoke at almost 9:00 the next morning, feeling more rested than she had felt since the dreams started.

A/N: Please review!


	3. In dreams he came

Disclaimer: See Ch.1

Stifling a yawn, Hermione descended to the kitchen. She greeted everyone present with a sleepy "good morning" and rubbed her eyes before seating herself and heaping eggs and bacon onto her plate.

"Did you sleep well last night, Hermione?" inquired Mrs. Weasley cheerfully. Hermione nodded, unable to speak because her mouth was full of breakfast. "Good, I'm glad to hear that," said Mrs. Weasley, a mischievous look in her eyes that Hermione missed because she was yawning again.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had made plans that day to go to Diagon Alley, with an escort of Aurors, or course. After all, Harry was still a prime target for the few remaining Death Eaters who had managed to evade Azkaban after Lord Voldemort's downfall. Diagon Alley was back to its usual, bustling self once more.

The two boys immediately rushed off to the Quidditch supply shop, and Hermione wandered into Flourish and Blotts. Absent-absentmindedly, she perused the shelves, not really looking for anything, except for a distraction for her wandering mind. She was thinking about the final battle that had taken place in the beginning of the summer. Snape had been there, but no one seemed to know whose side he was on. Neither the Death Eaters nor the Order members had wanted to curse him, and it seemed he was making his way to the center of the battle, throwing curses at whomever crossed his path, both members of the Dark and Light sides. Even though she had been battling a Death Eater, she couldn't help but notice when Snape had been knocked out by a nasty hex. That had been the last time she'd seen him.

She thought about the murdering traitor for the rest of the day, and the ride back to the Burrow. The boys didn't notice her distraction—they were too excited about their new Quidditch supplies that they ran right to the field to try out Harry's new Seeker gloves. Hermione trailed behind and sat at the base of an oak tree. Still lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize she had been crying until Ginny sat next to her, a concerned look on her face.

"Are you alright Hermione?" asked Ginny, gently. Ginny too had her share of ghosts. The final battle had taken many people they both knew, and Michael Corner had been one of the few student casualties. Although he and Ginny had broken up a long time ago, Ginny had remained close friends with him and sobbed openly at his funeral.

Wiping her eyes on her sleeve, Hermione choked out, "Oh! I feel so stupid! Crying about...stuff...that I couldn't...can't...control...not now or, or ever!...And it's all...over and...done with!"

Even though she was puzzled by Hermione's strange reply, Ginny said no more and comforted her friend by rubbing circles ion her back. At long last, Hermione's tears subsided.

"Ginny," asked a hoarse Hermione, "do you think I'm...crazy? Mental?"

"What? Why on Earth would I think that?" Ginny asked, now truly baffled.

"Well, I don't know," said Hermione. "I think I'm just going to go to bed. The pizza from Diagon Alley really filled me up. Goodnight Ginny." Getting to her feet, she glanced towards the boys, then headed towards her room.

The dream returned again, but so did the voice. Hermione had a tickling sensation—she felt she recognized the voice in the back of her mind. Tonight, the dream Hermione went looking for the voice. She wandered among the bits of ceiling that had yet to be restored, looking for the voice.

She saw movement out of the corner of her eyes, and headed in that direction. "Who are you?" she called out to the voice, hoping for an answer.

The voice replied, "I am...an angel."

Again, the angel's voice sounded so familiar to her. "Do you have a name?" she asked. It bothered her that she couldn't see the angel, all she could hear was his voice.

There was a pause, then, "They call me Erik."

Hermione peered around a chunk of the ceiling and found herself staring at the angel's back. He was tall, slender, and wore a floor length black cloak. Curious, she rose and started to move towards Erik. She had just reached him and was reaching out her hand to touch his shoulder when the dream ended abruptly.

Hermione's eyes fluttered open. Who was this Erik? Was he real, or just a figment of her subconscious mind?


	4. That voice!

Disclaimer: See Ch. 1

Hermione tossed and turned in a fitful slumber after her sudden awakening. After a few hours, she decided that Mrs. Weasley would be up and about in the kitchen, so she threw on a dressing gown and headed downstairs.

Seeing as how it was still quite early in the morning, Hermione tiptoed down the stairs so she wouldn't wake any of the others. She was startled then, when she heard Mrs. Weasley conversing with a man, because she knew Mr. Weasley was at a week long conference in the United States. Besides, who would call on company at such an early hour?

"I think it's working," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes, well, I think that the risk of discovery is too great," replied the man.

Hermione jumped as she recognized the voice as belonging to her angel of music, Erik! She wondered if she could sneak a peek at his face, or stay here and continue to eavesdrop. Coming out of her thoughts, she strained her ears to hear the conversation, for the two in the kitchen had suddenly dropped their voices to whispers. She moved down a step, forgetting that the second one down from the landing always squeaked.

Mentally cursing her forgetfulness, Hermione decided to make her way to the kitchen so as not to raise any suspicions of her eavesdropping. When she entered the room, Mrs. Weasley was quite alone, cooking bacon at the stove while the dishes in the sink washed themselves.

"Good morning, my dear!" said Mrs. Weasley, although with somewhat of a tired edge in her voice. Hermione smelled the scent of fire again; could it be Erik's scent? Or was it just the smell of the bacon burning?


	5. Which calls to me and speaks my name

Disclaimer: See Ch.1

Hermione, Harry, Ron, Ginny and the rest of the Weasleys ate a delicious breakfast. Feeling guilty about not having spent time with her friends, she suggested that the four of them go to Muggle London for a day, just to hang out together and have fun.

Hermione and Ginny were both drawn to the clothes section of the mall in downtown London, while Harry and Ron wanted to see a Muggle film. So it was decided that the girls would meet the boys when their movie was over.

Ginny had a wonderful taste in clothes normally, but set her loose in a Muggle shop and her good taste went out the window. She tried on numerous combinations of shirts that were too small and skirts that would be more suitable as belts.

Hermione decided to wander over to the jewelery section of the store while Ginny continued to try on clothes. She looked into a display case and a necklace caught her eye. It had a fine gold chain, and from it was dangling a pale rose quartz pendant in the shape of a heart. Hermione fell in love with it, but her hopes of purchasing it sank when she noticed the price tag. "575 Euros!" she muttered, turning away disappointed.

She went back to find Ginny in yet another fashion disaster, and simply laughed. "Did you find anything that would be Hogwarts appropriate?" asked Hermione. As a response, she was handed two pairs of jeans, one skirt, and three cute tops.

"I'm going to change. Would you mind saving a place for me in line?" asked Ginny sweetly from behind the closed changing room door.

"Sure," said Hermione. She made her way through the crowds and stood at the end of the line. The sounds of the crowd were loud, but a distinctly familiar voice drifted back to her ears.

"No, it does not need to be gift-wrapped," said a man exasperatedly. The voice triggered a memory at the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite place where she had heard it before. She looked towards the front of the line, hoping to see who the man was, but the crowd was so big that all she saw was the man's back. He was wearing a dark green turtleneck sweater and black slacks.

Hermione craned her neck, searching for Ginny. She didn't have much time, because by the looks of things, her mystery man was preparing to leave the store. Making a split second decision, Hermione cast a series of spells--a quick Levitation charm, an Invisibility charm, and a Banishing spell to send the now floating and invisible pile of clothes towards Ginny, wherever she might be. Having gotten rid of the clothes, she stealthily made her way towards the front of the line. Almost there, she was close enough to reach out and touch him on the shoulder. He made a sudden motion, as though he had sensed her behind him. She inhaled, and smelled fire! Was this her Erik?

She stretched out her hand, and was about and inch away from touching him, when someone yelled, "Fire! FIRE!" Momentarily stunned, Hermione made no effort to get out of the way as the frantic crowd desperately pushed to get out of the store. One particularly large man shoved into her, and she fell to the ground behind the feet of her mystery man. She tried to stand, but the crowd was too strong for her and she was unable to get up. Another large man tripped over her ankle, and a twinge of pain shot up Hermione's leg. Her ankle had broken. For fear of being trampled even more, she backed up and hit the knees of the mystery man. This seemed to awaken him to her presence. "Hermione!" he questioned more to himself than to her, and without waiting for a positive reply, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her from the store.

Hermione was amazed at this man. Strangely, when she was in his arms, she felt safe, like everything would be alright. She felt, oddly, comforted by this stranger's embrace. All too soon, Hermione was set down in the hall outside the store. She was turned around, and was unable to see the man's face. He grabbed hold of her shoulders and steadied her, while taking out a wand discreetly and healing her ankle. "Now I want you to listen to me, Hermione. Go back to the Burrow. I will find the others and send them along after you. Can you Apparate back?"

Hermione was too shocked to do anything other than nod dumbly. She felt his hands leave her shoulders, and she knew she had to Apparate quickly before her ankle gave out. But in the second before she squeezed into nothingness, she looked over her shoulder to glance at her savior. Maybe it was the combination of fear, shock, and pain that have befuddled her mind, but Hermione could have sworn that she saw Severus Snape staring back at her.

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed this so far. I just got the sudden inspiration for this story, which is why all these chapters were uploaded at once. But now, I have exams an the end of the school year approaching fast, so I might not update for a while. Please bear with me! And reveiw! I love hearing what you have to say!


	6. And do I dream again?

Hermione appeared on top of the hill overlooking the village of Ottery St. Catchpole, the same hill she, Harry, and the Weasleys had Portkeyed from to get to the Quidditch World Cup in the summer before her fourth year. _I guess this is the edge of the Anti-Apparition wards, _she thought.

She racked her brain, trying to think of what to do first. Foremost in her mind was the pain throbbing in her ankle. While Snape (?) had healed her, the job was hastily done and not very thorough. Taking out her own wand, Hermione uttered, "Ferula," and bandages wrapped around her ankle.

Now that the pain was no longer as big an issue, Hermione's mind jumped to her friends. Where were they? Harry could Apparate, as could Ron, although neither was licensed. Ginny could easily Side-Along Apparate with one of the boys. But did they know the danger they were in? Did they know she had left, or would they waste their time looking for her?

Hermione shook her head, trying to rid herself of her worries. She knew Harry had grown up and matured since second year, when he and Ron had flown a car to Hogwarts instead of sending a note with Hedwig. Hermione hoped that Harry would have enough common sense to remember that she had an Apparition license and could get back to the Burrow alright.

Hermione's thoughts then wandered towards Severus Snape. Was it really him that had saved her? It must have been, because his voice had sounded so familiar. Then why didn't she feel angry? After all, the man who had murdered Dumbledore had been so close to her! She could have done something! _Yeah? Like what Hermione? Pulled out your wand in the middle of a crowd of Muggles and hexed him? That wouldn't have attracted anyone's attention..._And strangely, she knew that even if she had had the chance, she wouldn't have acted. Deep down, she still felt an odd sort of pull towards her ex-professor.

And now, her convictions of him were wavering. She no longer was quite as certain that Snape was a traitor. After all, why would he intentionally want to kill his only mentor and friend? And hadn't he been a spy for the Order? And he did just save her life, didn't he? Why would he do that if he truly was a traitor? Now that doubt was filling her mind, she thought back to all the "coincidences" that had occurred in the Order's favor after Dumbledore's death. Like the time that Tonks had received an anonymous tip-off that had saved many of the Order's lives. Or the time that Remus had shown up at Order headquarters, saying that the Death Eaters were going to attack at the Ministry on May 15th at midnight, and they were actually there. And most importantly, several Order members had gotten anonymous owls, describing the locations of the remaining Horcruxes, and then finally the time and location of the Final Battle. Could all of the tip-offs have been from Snape?

Coming to her senses, Hermione shook her head violently. "I must be dreaming!" she said aloud. "Ha! Snape, innocent? What an absurd idea!"

But her musings were interrupted by three loud "pops!" Turning, she saw an anxious looking Ron and a sooty Ginny clinging to a faintly pleased looking Harry's arm. Ron rushed to Hermione and dropped to her knees at her side. "Merlin, I've been so worried about you Hermione! I wanted to go back to find you after Ginny told us about the fire, honestly I did, but Harry said you'd know to Apparate back. We were worried about the fact that Ginny had never Apparated before, but since Harry had Side-Alonged before, he took Ginny."

Hermione nodded to herself, realizing why Harry looked so pleased, and a small smile found its way onto her face. She blushed at Ron's touch on her wounded ankle, and was guiltily pleased that he was finally noticing her. _Yep, _she thought, _Ron? Paying attention to me? I must be dreaming!_


End file.
